LED DIY for 55g?

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Big Jay

Big Jay

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Jul 3, 2008
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Northeast
I am wondering if anyone has any cost effective ideas for LED lighting on a 55 gal. I have a wood canopy that currently has a twin tube fluoro mounted in it. I am looking to pull that and do an LED setup.

I've looked on here and seen people use outdoor LED floods but I think the output may be on the high side for my tank. Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!
 
I think 12 Cree XPG's in cool or neutral white, driven by a dimmable driver would be perfect for your tank. You can always turn down the power if the lighting appears too bright. Check out rapid led for DIY kits- http://www.rapidled.com/servlet/StoreFront
 
I've been looking at Bridglux LED's as they look quite promising. I haven't seen any colors though, just white. (warm, nuetral, cool white) Newark online sells the LED's and reflectors for them and they are very reasonably priced.
What I like is you can get them from about 400 lumens to over 8000 lumens in a single package so you can save some labor by not having to wire up a dozen or so.
Unfortunately I've seen very little about people using them for their aquariums and I have not had the chance to try them yet.
 
gmalone said:
I've been looking at Bridglux LED's as they look quite promising. I haven't seen any colors though, just white. (warm, nuetral, cool white) Newark online sells the LED's and reflectors for them and they are very reasonably priced.
What I like is you can get them from about 400 lumens to over 8000 lumens in a single package so you can save some labor by not having to wire up a dozen or so.
Unfortunately I've seen very little about people using them for their aquariums and I have not had the chance to try them yet.
Click to expand...

The BridgeLux LEDs are awesome for DIY use. I retrofitted 6 BridgeLux BXRA-C4500's ( 5000 lumens each ) into an old CURRENT power compact fixture and the light output is amazing. The light is currently on display at my LFS. The owner swears that it makes a 400 watt MH lamp look like a nite-light.
Here's a photo that I took while testing it.
IMG_1372.jpg
 
what about Ikea? They sell alot of cabinet type led lights. You can get the color change kits too. Been thinking of going that way for my 55. I have Koi so I figure the changable lights would really highlight the colors.
 
Big Jay said:
I am wondering if anyone has any cost effective ideas for LED lighting on a 55 gal. I have a wood canopy that currently has a twin tube fluoro mounted in it. I am looking to pull that and do an LED setup.

I've looked on here and seen people use outdoor LED floods but I think the output may be on the high side for my tank. Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!
Click to expand...

If you think the floods are too bright than DIY will be definite overkill, since you'll most likely have them dimmed down all the way. Floods will be the easiest and cheapest way to get some LEDs. If they're too bright, just put a few layers of bug screen over the lens to get the light you want. It's the poor-man's dimmer switch :D
 
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